Loving Me is Hard
by Li'lDixonDarlin
Summary: Grayce Eason is a photographer from New Orleans, Louisiana and looking to broaden her horizons and do more than take photographs for a tourist website. She gets her chance when she meets the boys of the GAC. Will they warm up to her? Will she get a new job? More importantly, will she get along with them if she does get a job with them or will her Cajun temper get her in trouble?
1. Photos & the Royal Oyster House

**Yeah yeah, I know I have SEVERAL stories goin on, but I really really wanted to try my hand (or would it be mind?) at a Ghost Adventures story. This is gonna be a Zak/OC story and it's not gonna start out like some do with love at first sight or anything like that. Sure, my OC will think he's good lookin but he's gonna be real iffy about having a new person on board. I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm gonna shut up now and let you read the first chapter of Loving Me is Hard. **

**I only own my OC(s).**

**The title came to me from Papa Roach's song ****_Reckless _****so I do not own the title. Do not sue me for usin' it as a fan fic title...please.**

* * *

***No one's POV***

Grayce Eason sighed heavily then wiped the sweat from her brow as she took pictures in the heat of the day. Grayce glanced around Royal Street then resumed taking pictures of the haunted, historic homes there.

"Ah, gotta love the Louisiana heat." Grayce muttered under her breath. She heaved a heavy sigh then wiped sweat from her forehead again before letting her camera hang around her neck.

"Okay...break time." Grayce mumbled. She walked away from the LaLaurie House, whistling under her breath, feeling a light shiver up her spine even though it was hot out and she knew it was due to the house being haunted. Grayce hummed _Carry on Wayward Son_ under her breath as she walked and lightly tapped her fingers against her camera.

"Where oh where do I wanna eat?" Grayce asked herself. After thinking for a while, Grayce decided to eat at the **Royal House Oyster Bar** located at 411 Royal Street so she headed in that direction. Grayce tapped her fingers against her camera and waved at the people she knew and occasionally stopping to chat briefly before continuing on her way. Once she reached the **Royal House Oyster Bar**, Grayce opened the door and walked in, inhaling the scent of food cooking.

"Hi miss! Table for one?" a bubbly blonde waitress questioned.

"Yes ma'am." Grayce smiled, glancing at the name tag that read 'Olivia'.

"Smokin or non smokin?" Olivia asked.

"Non smokin please." Grayce smiled.

"Alright! Follow me please, miss!" Olivia said. Olivia started walking to lead Grayce to a table and Grayce followed along behind her.

"Here ya go ma'am!" Olivia said, motioning to a table. Grayce smiled in thanks then took a seat at her table. Olivia handed Grayce a menu then got out her notepad and pen.

"Can I get ya somethin to drink?" Olivia questioned.

"I'll take a glass of Dr. Pepper, please." Grayce said. Olivia wrote Grayce's drink order down then smiled at her.

"I'll be back with it shortly and see if you're ready to order then!" Olivia said. Grayce smiled and Olivia walked off to go take care of Grayce's drink so Grayce opened her menu and scanned through the food choices before making her decision. Grayce closed her menu and waited a few moments then her server approached her table, carrying a tray with her Dr. Pepper then Olivia placed her glass in front of her.

"You ready to order?" Olivia asked, grabbing her notebook and pen again.

"Yes ma'am, I sure am. I'd like to order the alligator po boy." Grayce said. Olivia nodded her head then wrote down Grayce's order.

"Would you like the side of fries as well?" Olivia questioned.

"Yes ma'am I would." Grayce said with a smile. Olivia jotted down the rest of the order then she smiled at her.

"Your food will be with ya shortly." Olivia smiled. Grayce returned her smile then took a drink of her soda as the waitress walked away. Grayce hummed as she waited then decided to turn on her camera and take a look at the shots of the LaLaurie house that she had taken. She saw several shots she would keep for herself and others she would turn in to her boss for the tourist website. She turned her camera back off then placed it on the floor beside her feet then messed with the chain for her wallet.

***Grayce's POV***

I lifted my glass and took a small drink of my Dr. Pepper as I waited for my food then placed my glass back on the tabletop and glanced around the restaurant. Moments later, the waitress Olivia approached with a tray and I knew it was my food.

"Here ya go honey! Enjoy!" Olivia said with a smile as she placed my plate in front of me.

"Thank ya Olivia." I smiled. Olivia returned my smile then walked off to continue with her job. I started eating in silence, occasionally glancing around at the other patrons to see if I spotted anyone I knew. I swallowed my bite of sandwich then took a drink of my soda and placed it back. I heard the door chime, signaling new customers but paid no mind to them as I continued to eat my lunch.

"Oh man, it smells so good in here!" a male voice said.

"No lie! There's always something good to eat in the restaurants in Louisiana." a second male voice said. I smiled internally then grabbed a couple of my fries and popped them into my mouth. I listened as they chattered away and talked about the foods on the menu.

"Oh man...everything on here sounds good...I don't know what to get!" the first voice said.

"Well why don't you ask someone to give their opinion." a third male voice suggested.

"Good idea!" the first voice said. The three men went silent and I had the feeling that I was being watched so I turned in my seat to see one of the three guys staring at me.

"Can I help ya?" I said.

"Um, yeah. I hope you don't mind but what would you recommend?" the guy with the shaved head asked. I shifted in my seat once I realized their table was the one next to mine and leaned forward slightly then motioned for him to hold up his menu.

"Well, everything on here is good but if you're lookin for somethin that catches your attention or may sound odd then browse the menu to see what you may wanna try." I supplied. The guy nodded his head in understanding then smiled.

"Thanks for the advice!" he said.

"Not a problem." I said. He turned back to his table so I turned back to mine and finished up my lunch. I wiped my hands on my napkin then finished off my soda and wiped my mouth with my napkin. I called Olivia over and asked for the check so she went off to go get the bill for my food. I hummed as I waited, occasionally glancing at the trio from the corner of my eye; trying to figure out where it is I've seen them before.

***No one's POV***

Olivia soon returned with the check and she handed it to Grayce and stood, waiting for the payment. Grayce pulled her wallet from her back pocket, using her chain, then she opened her wallet and pulled out the right amount of cash as well as a fifteen dollar tip for Olivia.

"There's a fifteen dollar tip in there for you. You were polite and courteous when I walked in and not rude like a good bit of waiters or waitresses tend to be." Grayce said. Olivia smiled brightly and thanked her profusely before walking away to get back to work. Grayce got to her feet, stuck her wallet into her back pocket where it belonged then pushed in her chair and headed out of the restaurant, still trying to figure out where she had saw the three men at the table beside hers before, not realizing that she'd see them soon enough and find out exactly who they were.


	2. New Job Opportunity

**Here's chapter 2 of Loving Me is Hard! Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoy it!**

**I only own my OCs and Grayce's work location (made it up lol).**

* * *

***Grayce's POV***

After I left the restaurant, I decided to head back to the office building where I work to show my boss the pictures I took of the LaLaurie house. Once I reached the familiar building, I pulled the door open then walked in. I nodded at the receptionist then jogged up the stairs and towards my boss's office. I knocked on the door then waited, rocking back onto my heels.

"Come in!" my boss called. I opened the door to my boss's office then walked in and closed the door behind me. Evan West, my boss, is a man of thirty-five years of age who is married with triplets and loves my work.

"Hello Mr. West." I greeted. He looked up and smiled at me then beckoned me forward.

"Ah, Grayce. Come and have a seat then show me what ya got." Mr. West said. I slid my camera strap from around my neck then I handed my camera over to Mr. West so he could look through my pictures. Once I handed over my camera, I sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk then at back, waiting to hear what he thought of my snapshots. I examined my nails as he looked through my photos and came to the conclusion that I'd have to repaint them sooner or later. Mr. West cleared his throat so I glanced up to see that my camera was sitting on his desk and his hands were folded in front of him.

"Grayce?" Mr. West said.

"Yes sir?" I said.

"You've done a great job with these photographs!" Mr. West beamed. I smiled in return and nodded my head.

"Thank you sir. I always do my best." I said.

"I'll sort through these images and copy the ones I want from your camera's memory card to my computer and add them to the story for the paper." Mr. West said.

"Okay sir. Would you like me to wait in my office area?" I asked.

"If you don't mind." Mr. West said.

***No One's POV***

Grayce exited her boss's office then made her way to her small office area then sat down in her desk chair then propped her feet up on her desk. As she waited on word from her boss, Grayce thought about who those three guys in the restaurant were because she thought they looked so familiar.

_"Just who the hell could they be?"_ Grayce thought. Grayce shrugged the thought off and started reading the book she had tucked away in her desk. In the lobby of **New Orleans Tribune**, three men were talking to the receptionist, who directed them up the stairs to the office of Evan West. Once they were upstairs, they passed by a few desks then reached the office of the boss then the man with the black hair knocked on the office door.

"Come in!" Evan called. The man at the front of the group opened the door then they walked in and the man with the shaved head closed the door behind them. Evan glanced up from looking through Grayce's photos then smiled at the three men.

"Ah, you three must be the Ghost Adventures Crew from the **Travel Channel**." Evan smiled.

"That's right. I'm Zak Bagans." Zak said.

"I'm Nick Groff." Nick said.

"Aaron Goodwin." Aaron said. Evan nodded his head in greeting then motioned for the three of them to take a seat. Once they were seated, Evan leaned forward in his chair then propped his elbows on his desk, lacing his fingers together and placing his hands under his chin.

"So...you guys are looking for a photographer to go wit y'all, yeah?" Evan said.

***Grayce's POV***

I had just gotten to the **Red Headed League** in my Sherlock Holmes book when I heard Evan's office door open and close for a second time but paid no mind to it. I heard someone clear their throat so I placed my bookmark back in my book then shut it and glanced up to see Evan and the three men from the restaurant standing around my desk.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" I asked.

"Fellas this is my best photographer, Grayce Eason. She's the one who took the photos I showed y'all" Evan said. I wrinkled my nose in confusion, shooting Evan a confused look as two of the three men looked at me in awe while the third man looked at me with an expression on his face that I couldn't place for the life of me.

"Um...am I missin somethin here Evan?" I asked, finally using his first name like he has asked me to over the years I've worked for him.

"These three guys are from the **Travel Channel**." Evan explained.

"We're the Ghost Adventures Crew. I'm Nick Groff." Nick said.

"I'm Aaron Goodwin." Aaron said.

"...Zak Bagans." Zak muttered.

"We're looking for a photographer to come with us on lockdowns to take photos to see if we can catch any spirits. I do it occasionally but it gets hard to man one of the bigger cameras as well as take pictures." Nick explained.

"Your boss showed us your work and we were wondering if you'd like to work with us." Aaron said.

"I...I...are you guys sure y'all want me to work for y'all?" I questioned. Nick and Aaron grinned, nodding their heads at me but Zak didn't say anything; he kept his lips in a tight line as if he was refraining from saying anything to me.

"We're sure." Nick grinned.

"Sure, I'll work for y'all." I said slowly. Nick and Aaron slapped hands with one another then grinned at me.

"Go ahead and clean out yer desk Gray. If things don't work out wit dem, jus know that you'll always have a place here." Evan grinned.


	3. Zak is Unsure

**Here's the third chapter of Loving Me Is Hard :)**

**There will be some French in this but please forgive me if something isn't correct. I only speak a little French since I took it in highschool but the translations are from a translating website.**

**I only own my OCs!**

* * *

***Later on; Grayce's POV***

After I cleaned out my desk, I put them in my truck and headed home so I could put my things away and the guys followed. I couldn't believe it; I was now working for the **Travel Channel** and with the Ghost Adventures Crew of all people! Needless to say, I'm thrilled about it. When I pulled up to my house, I saw a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle parked in my yard and I knew that it was my aunt Rain hoping I was home so she could visit. I chuckled to myself then parked my truck next to her little car then killed the engine and got out then shut my door and locked up my truck then hopped into the bed of my truck, grabbing my box of things from my old office.

"Grayce Temperance Eason! Where da hell have ya been gal? I've been tryna call yer house phone to get a hold of ya but got no answer! I knew ya had ta be off work by now so what took ya so long?" a familiar voice called. I peered over the top of my truck and chuckled when I saw my great-aunt walking towards my truck. She was wearing a bright purple, flowing peasant top that has silver medallions sewn onto it with black pants and sandals as well as her favorite Ozzy glasses with the purple tinted lenses.

"Well aunt Rain, I was cleanin out my desk. I got a new job so I packed up everything and just now got to come back here." I said.

"New job? Why the hell am I just now hearin bout this?" aunt Rain asked. I chuckled at my aunt then jumped out of the bed of my truck, landing on my feet in a crouch, my box hitting my knees after I jumped. I stood upright then shifted my box of stuff so it was against my hip then looked at my aunt.

"C'mon in and I'll let ya know." I said. Aunt Rain nodded her head then followed alongside me then her gaze fell on Zak, Aaron, and Nick who were standing by their rental car.

"Qui sont ces beaux hommes?" Aunt Rain questioned.

"Ce sont les hommes, je vais travailler avec maintenant." I replied.

"Ils sont certains magnifique les hommes. Sont-elles uniques?" Aunt Rain questioned with a grin.

"Tante Rain, vous ne changera jamais." I chuckled. My aunt smiled then lightly nudged me in the ribs.

"Bien que vous ne pouver pas me reprocher de demander." Aunt Rain smiled. I chuckled then shrugged my shoulders.

"Non, je ne peux pas vraiment vous blâmer." I grinned. My aunt chuckled at my grin then waited as I fished my keys from my pants pocket. Once I pulled my keys from my pocket, I grabbed my key with the Batman logo on it then slid it into my door knob and unlocked it then twisted the knob and shoved the door open.

***Zak's POV***

"I wonder what they were talking about." Aaron said. Nick shrugged his shoulders and kicked at the dirt.

"I'm not sure. All I know is they were speaking in French." Nick said.

"They were probably talking about us." I muttered.

"Jeez Zak, what's up your ass dude?" Aaron asked.

"Guys, what do we know about her? How do we know she's not crazy or something? Is she even reliable with her photography skills?" I asked.

"That's the point of getting to know her better. And you saw the photos her old boss showed us! She's really good! Especially the shots of Marie Laveau's grave." Nick said. I decided to give up arguing, knowing it wouldn't make any difference.

"Are y'all comin in or not?" Grayce called, poking her head out the door.

"We're coming!" Aaron called.

* * *

**Translations:**

qui sont ces beaux hommes - who are those handsome men

ce sont les hommes, je vais travailler avec maintenant - they are the men i'll be working with now

ils sont des hommes magnifiques. sont-ils unique? - they are some gorgeous men. are they single?

tante Rain, vous ne changera jamais - aunt Rain, you never change

Bien que vous ne pouvez pas me reprocher de demander - well you can't blame me for asking

Non, je ne peux pas vraiment vous blâmer - No, I can't really blame you


End file.
